Crowds Celebrate Osama Bin Laden's Death At Ground Zero And In Times Square

Unless you've been hiding under a rock all night, you'll have heard that Osama Bin Laden was killed yesterday in Pakistan by American forces. As of the last few hours, huge crowds have gathered at New York City's Ground Zero and in Times Square to celebrate the news. We've been in contact with sources on the ground, as well as our very own Francesca Stabile, who posted this video of the crowd singing the national anthem:

A source at Ground Zero sent us a number of pictures, and said that "thousands" of people were at the site:

^This photo was sent at 1:20 a.m: "People are not leaving. With the exception of few, who are only leaving to bring back beers."

From Intern Averie, another picture of the crowd:

She told us:

Stepping off the Fulton stop you can hear the cheering instantaneously... They crowd is going nuts, singing and climbing lamp poles. Best part is there's no such thing as a stranger here tonight, we're all Americans, we're all New Yorkers and everyone is proudly shouting it on Ground Zero.

I met a man on the way here named James O'Connor, a retired NY fireman, he was holding a flag and told me it had hung on Ground Zero on September 11. He vowed to bring it back when Osama had been found, and he brought it here today. He said, "I don't ever celebrate the death of a human being, but I am a happy man today."

Here is O'Connor marching the flag to Ground Zero:

Via @ThinkProgress, a photo of firefighters receiving the news in Times Square:

A lone man in a FDNY shirt stands apart from the crowd and looks at Ground Zero (via @marysway):